


I'd Come For You

by Krank



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 15:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2313743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krank/pseuds/Krank
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Harry gets a phone call in the middle of the night.</i>
</p><p> <i>Niall needs his help.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd Come For You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keep_on_zoinking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keep_on_zoinking/gifts).



> Wrote this pretty quickly. Based loosely on a Nickleback music video (ha). I just love a good hurt/comfort.

Harry knew he was going too fast as he drove down a quite road in the middle of the night, taking corners too recklessly and not checking his blind spots. He knew he'd be in deep shit if he got pulled over in his mother's little sedan, that he had taken without really asking; instead leaving a hasty note on the kitchen counter where her keys usually sat. It wasn't as if she'd be needing it, since she was fast asleep at that hour.

Harry would have been fast asleep as well, if not for the upsetting phone call he'd received ten minutes before, his best friend's broken voice sobbing through the receiver, asking if he could come pick him up.

Harry was out the door before the call was even over.

He hadn't even asked what had happened, not really seeing the point. All he needed to know was where Niall was, and that he was safe there until Harry could make it to him.

A million thoughts were racing through his mind as his headlights bounced from tree to tree, illuminating his way and all of the orange leaves on the road. He felt nervous, but mostly guilty that Niall was hurting. He felt _responsible_.

Earlier that evening, Niall had left on his first real date with a boy, a guy he had met online some weeks before. Harry had been shocked when Niall had told him, and a bit heartbroken. He was apprehensive at first, telling Niall to stop and that what he was doing was dangerous. It ended with Niall refusing to talk to him for an entire day, after which Harry came crawling back with an apology and a promise to be supportive.

The guy was older than Niall by three years, in college in the city closest to them. He looked decent enough, with a bit of height on Niall and brown hair. Harry couldn't help feeling like he was a bit plain – a bit _boring_ for someone as amazing as Niall was, but his friend was so excited that he kept that much to himself. 

Then the day came for the two of them to finally meet.

They had planned it all out. As far as Niall's parents knew, he was sleeping over at Harry's, when in reality he was getting picked up at a park nearby. It was all a bit shady, but it was necessary so that Niall's family didn't find out. It was important that they  _never_ found out, not until Niall wanted them to.

Harry had spent the entire evening worrying. He'd paced, eaten too much ice cream, and had a marathon of 'House' with his mother and sister. They tried to pry but he wouldn't budge, checking his phone over and over to see if Niall had messaged him. He never did.

The phone call had come just as he'd been nodding off in his bed.

_'Haz... I need you.'_

The GPS in the car finally landed him at a 24-hour gas station on the edge of town. The first thing he saw was Niall, seated on the curb just outside the door of the convenience store. His head rose at the sight of Harry's car and he quickly scrubbed at his face.

“Ni!” Harry called, crawling out of the car and racing towards his best friend. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Niall was dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and jeans. He had looked amazing before he'd left, though Harry thought he always looked amazing. He'd helped him pick out his outfit, which consisted of a white band t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Well, they were as skinny as they could get for Niall's little toothpick legs. His hair was even styled up off of his forehead with Gemma's help. He looked _perfect_.

Harry crouched down, noticing how violently he was shivering. There was an opportunity for an 'I told you so', after Niall had refused to wear a sweater because 'sweaters aren't cute, Haz'. Harry ignored it. “You're freezing.”

“I'm fine,” Niall mumbled. His eyes were bloodshot, the skin around them red and puffy.

Harry continued to check him over for any obvious injuries as he pulled off his own sweater. He wrapped it around Niall's shoulders despite his protests, and it was then that Harry noticed the angry red mark on his neck.

“What's this?” He asked, reaching out to touch the forming bruise. Niall's eyes went wide and he shrank back, clamping a hand over the spot.

“It's nothing -”

Harry felt his blood boil. “What did he do?” He almost growled, feeling anger like he hadn't felt in years. “Did he hurt you? Did he -”

“Harry!” Niall cried, shaking his head vigorously before he could finish. “Can we just go home? Please?”

Harry deflated a bit, seeing tears begin to shine in Niall's eyes again. Without another word he helped him off of the ground, keeping an arm around him as they headed towards the car. Thankfully it was still warm as Harry bundled Niall in to the passenger seat.

The ride home was quiet, Harry looking over every so often to check, hoping that Niall would be the first one to speak. Instead, the blond continued to stare out of the window, Harry's sweater pulled tightly around him. Harry could hear his sniffles, wanted desperately to know what had happened that night. All he knew was that it was bad, and that Niall had been left alone at a gas station, which could only mean that the guy he'd met was a ginormous dick.

“You can take me home,” Niall mumbled as they entered their neighbourhood.

Harry shook his head, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “Your parents think you're at my house. If you go home at this hour, they'll worry, and at the moment I don't think you can come up with a decent lie.”

Niall said nothing more.

They were quiet as they made it in to the house, kicking off their shoes and tiptoeing up the stairs. Niall looked even worse in the harsh light of Harry's room, paler than he usually was. He had stopped crying at least.

“Did you want to take a bath?” Harry asked quietly, standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor while Niall remained by the door. “It might help you feel better.”

Niall shook his head, finally letting Harry's sweater drop to the floor. “I just want to go to bed.”

Harry found him something comfortable to change in to and they got ready for bed. They'd shared Harry's bed in the past plenty of times, and that night was no different as Niall crawled in first, always preferring the side next to the wall. After he shut off the light, Harry got in as well, keeping his distance to give Niall all the space that he needed.

It didn't take long for the words to come.

“He was really nice in the beginning,” Niall said softly.

Harry cleared his throat. “Ni, you don't have to -”

“I do or it's going to drive me insane!” He hissed, and Harry could hear him shift on to his side. “And you're my best friend, you drove to come get me in the middle of the night you deserve to know.”

Harry kept his breath even as he waited for Niall to continue, unsure if he was ready to hear what he had to say.

“I was so nervous at first. He had a nice car, and he was hotter than I'd expected. You know I'm not shy at all but with him I was. He was older and just _bigger_. We went to eat at a nice place, the food was great... And as we talked he broke me out of my shell a bit. I started to feel more comfortable, more like myself. It was going good.”

Harry tried not to imagine Niall at dinner, being charmed by another guy. He tried not to see his head thrown back with laughter, or the way his eyes probably scrunched up as he smiled. The asshole didn't deserve that part of Niall.

“We got back in to his car and he said he was taking me somewhere special. I thought it was cute, you know, for him to have made plans. I was so starry-eyed, _fuck_...”

“Hey, hey,” Harry cooed, reaching out blindly and finding Niall's arm. He gave it a squeeze. “You have so much faith in people, Ni, and that isn't a fault. You think the best of everyone and that is one of the things I love about you.”

Niall swallowed and took Harry's hand in his. “He started asking me questions in the car. They were a bit personal, but we'd been pretty honest with each other so I just went with it. I thought it was a grown-up thing to do, you know, so I told him everything.”

Harry immediately knew where the story was headed. He felt the bubbling of anger that he'd felt earlier, though he tried to force it down for Niall's sake. “What did he ask you?”

Niall sighed. “He asked if I'd ever... _been_ with a guy before. You know, like -”

“I know,” Harry interrupted.

“Right, so I told him that I hadn't, that I hadn't even _kissed_ a guy before! He told me he had no idea why, because I was so cute. At that point I was over the moon, Haz. No one's ever told me that.”

_I tell you that all the time_ , Harry thought bitterly. 

“He took me up to that hill that looks over town, you know, the one where that restaurant used to be? And he parked and the view was beautiful.” 

Niall was quiet after that, and when Harry listened closely, he could hear the sound of faint sniffling. Without waiting for more, Harry pulled Niall in, wrapping his arms around him as best he could. The action caused Niall to fully break down, burying his face in Harry's neck as his sobs choked him. It was upsetting, seeing Niall so broken. Harry could be an emotional person, but Niall hardly ever needed comfort. He was always so bright and so happy. He was the one that picked Harry up when he was down, not the other way around. 

“When he kissed me I was caught off guard. I didn't know what to do.” Niall paused to hiccup. “I was excited but I was also a bit scared. He was older than me and I didn't want him to lose interest.”

“Ni...” Harry breathed, hugging him tighter. “The right person for you will never lose interest.”

“I let him keep going,” Niall continued, voice barely a whisper. Harry's heart sank. “There was nowhere else to go, so I just tried to be more comfortable with it. I told myself that I _should_ be comfortable because I liked boys and this is what liking boys meant. He kept trying to pull me closer but I resisted, so he just came to me.

“When I noticed that he was hard I started to panic. I felt suffocated, like there was no way out. He was touching me and it was too rough, too different from what I'd imagined. I tried to get his attention, to make him stop but he kept at it.” Niall paused again, taking a deep breath in. Harry could feel his skinny body shaking in his arms and he reached up to run his fingers through his blond hair.

“I started to cry when he got my pants undone. I got a bit hysterical and started shoving at him, trying to get him off of me. I don't know, but I think I slapped him. I stumbled out of the car and fell down. He was yelling things at me, terrible things, but then the car door was slamming shut and he was driving off.”

Harry gasped. “He  _left_ you there?”

Niall nodded. “I couldn't have stayed in that car for any longer with him anyways. There was no other way. I started walking to try and calm myself down.”

“Why didn't you call me from the hill? Why did you go to the gas station?” Harry tried to keep his voice low, but he was failing.

“Because I was embarrassed!” Niall cried. “All I kept thinking about was what you had said about it being dangerous. I was ashamed, Haz.”

Harry said nothing for a moment, choosing instead to just hold Niall tighter. He felt a bit sick, hearing what had happened to him. He didn't deserve to be treated that way, to be so blatantly disrespected by some dumb college boy. He tried not to think about what would have happened if Niall hadn't been brave enough to fight back... He was worth so much more than that, and someday he'd realize it. Someday he might also realize how much Harry really cared for him.

“I'm glad you did call me. And I don't care what you do to me, or what you say, I will always come for you. You could scream and shout and hurt me all you want and I'd still come if you called.”

Niall sniffled again. “Really?”

Harry hesitated. “Well, I'd have to give you a stern talking to afterward, and there might be some form of humiliating punishment to make up for it, but yes. I'll always be there for you.”

Niall laughed suddenly, the sound catching Harry off guard. His shoulders were shaking, though for once not with sobs. Harry found himself laughing as well, wrapping his arm around Niall's neck and giving him a glorious noogie. In response Niall yelled, wriggling to get away.

The fun came to a grinding halt as the hallway light came on, Harry hearing an obvious 'shit' under Niall's breath. The door opened slowly and Anne's head poked in the room. “Harry?”

“Hey, Mum!” Harry said, squinting in the light.

“Hello, Anne!” Niall greeted beside him. 

“Oh, Niall! I didn't know you were here, when did you show up?” Harry knew they were off the hook because, much like him, his mother _loved_ Niall. 

“It was a last minute sort of thing,” Niall grinned, stuffing his face further in to Harry's pillow.

“Well you boys keep it down, ok? I know it's a weekend but be responsible.” They said goodnight and she was gone, the hallway light flickering off as she returned to her room. 

“Thank you, Harry,” Niall whispered, the laughter from before gone from his voice. It was a rare serious moment between them, much like the entire night had been. They'd gone through something quite real, and Harry still wasn't sure what the consequences would be.

“Don't mention it. I'm just glad you're okay. And next time you meet a boy, I get to go out with him first!”

Niall chuckled, though it sounded strained. “I'm not sure that'll be happening any time soon.”

“That's okay too, then,” Harry smiled, pulling the covers farther up around them. Niall snuggled in close again, his cheek against Harry's shoulder. “You'll find someone perfect for you when the time is right and you're ready.”

Niall sighed, giving Harry a poke to the ribs. “I hope you're right about that.”

“Of course I am. It'll happen when you least expect it.” _Just as soon as I can gather the courage to tell you._

  
  


  
  



End file.
